Painting composition



Patented July 16, 1 935 UNITED STATES PATENT- OFFICE PAINTING COMPOSITION Ruth Faison Shaw, New York, N. Y.

No Drawing. Application December 19, 1932, Serial No. 647,965

2 Claims.

- 5 paints disclosed herein were originated by me in connection with educational work, for which they are well suited.

The primary object of the invention is to provide for children a new and useful medium of expression, and one with which the child can get interesting or beautiful results in a direct manner that app als tochild-nature and enables the child to gain a rather remarkable facility in externalizing his fancies and urges. The new paint composi tions are of a thick fiuid consistency, harmless on the skin or if introduced through the mouth into the system, and readily washable from the hands,

or from clothing- They are used by taking the material on the finger and applying it to the paper or other surface by finger strokes. Pictures made in this way are apt to give the teacher more insight into the psychology and aptitudes of her pupils than ordinary drawing or painting work, and the aesthetic and decorative sense of the child is stimulated.

The finger paints are preferably composed of'a paste of flour and water in the ratio of 1 part fiour to parts water with the addition of- Clear honey 1 teaspoons to 3 quarts of paste. .Glycerinefl 10-15 drops to 3 quarts of paste. Formaldehyde 10 drops to 3 quarts of paste. Harmlesspigment.

tions should be modified accordingly. Wheat starch may be substituted for the flour, though cornstarch seems to be less satisfactory since it tends to peel ofi when dry. Potato flour is rather too expensive and does not give the same bulk as wheat fiour.

The purpose of the formaldehyde is to preserve .he flour and prevent fermentation. Other harmless preservatives may be used.

The relatively small amount of honey softens the-mass, makes it smooth and keeps the paint from drying too quickly on the finger.

A function of the glycerine is to keep the skin from becoming roughened or irritated as the result of painting with the fingers.

Substantially any of the known innocuous pigments or coloring materials may be employed. The amount of pigment material used depends, of course, upon the desired color density. For three liquid quarts of paste, I have found that a desirabledensity for a specific color is attained by use of a water-insoluble earth pigment of that color in accordance with the following table, by weight:

I Grams Black 24.78

Green 109.56 Blue 58.68 Yellow 58. 68 Red 143.46 Brown 78. 24

One or more pots of these painting compositions are used by the child to make a picture. When the finger or fingers are dipped into the mass, which is much like fluent jelly or mud, a charge of the composition adheres to the fingers, and the consistency is such that full strokes can be made,

The paper is preferably glazed paper that has been wet on both sides, so that it will stay moist for ten or fifteen minutes. The paint when then applied takes some time to dry.

Paints embraced within the invention are not 7 necessarily limited to use by children.

I claim: 7 1. A composition for finger painting in the form of a jelly-like paste which is innocuous and readily washes from the hands, the said paste comprising wheat flour, water, honey, glycerine and a harmless insoluble pigment, the flour and water being combined in proportions of approximately 1 to 5, and the. honey and glycerine being present in small fractions of 1% by volume with respect to the volume of paste.

2. A composition for finger painting in the form of a jelly-like paste which is innocuous and readily washes from the hands, the said paste comprising wheat fiour,-water, honey, glycerine, harmless insoluble pigment and a'preservative, the paste being approximately 99% fiour and water combined in the ratio of approximately 1 to 5, the honey and glycerine being present in small amounts of the order of a few thousandths of 1% by volume, the preservative in amount sufficient to prevent fermentation of the organic materials.

RUTH FAISON' SHAW. 

